Samsung testing low cost LTE smartphone Galaxy S4 Mini LTE in India

Samsung had launched its flagship smartphone Galaxy S5 back in April. Samsung Galaxy S5 is a LTE compatible smartphone. It was expected that Galaxy S5 will come with Indian 4G support but Samsung launched Galaxy S5 without LTE support. In India Airtel has already started 4G services on Apple iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c as currently only iPhone supports Indian LTE Bands.

Samsung during the launch event said they will launch the LTE smartphone in India. It seems that Samsung has started preparing for launching LTE Smartphone in India. Samsung will not launch any new smartphone in India, instead it will launch LTE model of already selling Galaxy S4 mini.

The details about the device surfaced on Indian import manifest records. As per the import record obtained, Samsung has imported around 500 units of GT-I9197 and GT-I9197ZKAOPS. This model number is of Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini LTE smartphone. It supports TD-LTE, the same protocol India uses for LTE.

As you can see in the image above, Samsung has import 500 units of Galaxy S4 mini for Sales and Testing purpose. This clearly shows that Samsung is testing units for sales purpose. Samsung after testing it thoroughly will launch in India. The import price is around Rs. 17,760. The Galaxy S4 mini is currently retailing in India for Rs. 16,800, so it may priced higher than normal 3G version.

As far as Specifications are concerned, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini features a 4.3 inch qHD Display with 540×960 pixel resolution. It runs on 1.7 GHz dual core SnapDragon 400 Processor with 1.5GB RAM. For graphics it has Adreno 305 GPU. It has 8 GB internal memory which can be expanded upto 64GB using MicroSD Card.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini comes with 8 megapixel rear camera with LED Flash. It also has 1.9 megapixel front camera. It has connectivity options like TD-LTE, 3G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS/AGPS, Bluetooth v4, WLAN USB OTG and Micro-USB. It has 1,900 mAh battery. It runs on older Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box with a TouchWiz UI on top.

Key Specifications:

4.3 inch qHD screen

1.7 GHz dual core processor

1.5 GB RAM

Adreno 305 GPU

8 Megapixel rear camera with LED Flash

1.9 Megapixel front camera

1,900 mAh battery

LTE

8 GB Internal Memory, can be expanded using upto 64GB MicroSD card

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

It is unclear when Samsung will launch LTE Version of Galaxy S4 Mini in India, but we can expect it to be launched soon. The expected price for the device is around Rs. 23,000-25,000.